India's Maha Kumbh festival

January 29, 2013

Saurabh Das/ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Hindu holy men belonging to "ekadandi", or single staff holding sect of Hindu holy men, waits for charitable food and money during the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh festival, which is one of the world's largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days and falls every 12 years. The "ekadandis" are an ancient sect of traveling renunciates belonging to the Vaishnavite sect. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Saurabh Das/ASSOCIATED PRESS

6of42

Hindu holy men belonging to "ekadandi", or single staff holding sect of Hindu holy men, waits for charitable food and money during the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh festival, which is one of the world's largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days and falls every 12 years. The "ekadandis" are an ancient sect of traveling renunciates belonging to the Vaishnavite sect. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)